A painting created by a famous Chinese artist about half a century ago was sold for more than 1.7million yuan (US$205,000) at an auction Friday.

The painting called You Yu, meaning "more than enough" in Chinese, was painted by Qi Baishi in 1957, when he was 93 years old, as a gift to a state leader in the 1950s when the People's Republic of China was founded.

The 105.5cm by 34 cm painting from a private collector, with a unique inscription of the word "comrade", went to an anonymous buyer after 10 rounds of bidding. The price was about five times the reserve.

"It was rare for Master Qi to use the inscription of 'comrade' in his paintings," said Zhao Yu, art advisor of Sungari International Auction Co., Ltd, which hosted the auction.

A prolific artist with more than 10,000 works, Qi was granted the international peace prize by the World Peace Council and named honorary academician of the GDR Academy in the 1950s. He died in September 1957 in Beijing at the age of 93.

A total of 1,703 calligraphy items and paintings spanning from ancient times to the modern era, including original works of Qi Baishi and other famous Chinese painters like Wu Zuoren and Zhang Daqian, will be put up for sale at the three-day auction.

(Xinhau News Agency March 27, 2004)